At White House, Obama and Saudi king discuss Guantanamo, Mideast peace process
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Anne E. Kornblut - June 30, 2010 - 12:00am

Broaching a sensitive subject, President Obama assured the visiting king of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that he remains committed to closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a continuing source of friction between their governments. A year after a reportedly rocky first meeting in Riyadh, Obama and King Abdullah held a brief, joint appearance before reporters in the Oval Office following lunch. Making ritual affirmations about the close ties between their two countries, the leaders said they discussed recently approved sanctions against Iran as well as the war in Afghanistan.

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Obama to meet with Israel's Netanyahu on July 6
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

President Obama's latest White House meeting with Israel's prime minister is set for July 6 -- more than a month after their last one was scuttled at the last minute. Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu had planned talks on June 1. But that fell apart after Israel's deadly raid May 31 on an aid flotilla hoping to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The raid has strained U.S. and Israeli relations, and the White House has announced a $400 million aid package for Gaza and the West Bank.

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Is Obama believable?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jordan Times
by Rami Khouri - June 18, 2010 - 12:00am

A few days ago, during a meeting at the White House with visiting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, US President Barack Obama made an important statement, calling for a new approach to allowing Gazans to trade freely with the world while protecting Israel’s legitimate security needs. It sounded to many, including myself, like a serious and sensible shift in policy, and a long-needed one. Why, then, does it generate mainly yawns and disbelief?

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Mitchell: Show restraint, avoid clashes
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - June 18, 2010 - 12:00am

Laboring under the cloud of the flotilla episode and its aftermath, US envoy George Mitchell held separate meetings with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday as part of his fourth round of indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians. One diplomatic official quipped that it was probably a good thing the talks were indirect, because if they had been direct, on May 31, when the IDF raided the Gaza flotilla and nine people on the boat were killed, PA President Mahmoud Abbas would have been forced to cancel the negotiations.

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ATFP Senior Fellow Tells NCUSAR Students US Perspective on Middle East is Evolving
Press Release - Contact Information: Hussein Ibish - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

On June 8, ATFP Senior Fellow Hussein Ibish spoke at a seminar for approximately 30 students at the Elliott School at George Washington University, hosted by the National Council on US-Arab Relations. Ibish spoke about evolution of US perspectives on Middle Eastern regional dynamics and peace, and about the present strategic situation with regard to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.


PA denies report Abbas maintaining Gaza siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority denied Israeli media reports on Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas asked his US counterpart for a continuation of Gaza's blockade, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh told reporters on Sunday. "President Abbas had raised the issue of the necessity of lifting the blockade as a matter on a par with the fate of the peace process," Abu Rudaineh told the Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency about a Wednesday meeting between the two heads of state, where the request was allegedly made.

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US response to Israel’s flotilla raid will shape the Middle East
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Suat Kiniklioglu - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

I am the only Turkish politician who has visited Israel since Israel unleashed the Gaza war in 2008, and the Davos incident in 2009 between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan highlighted the differences between our countries. I have many friends in Israel, and I did not hesitate to visit Israel when an invitation was extended to me by an Israeli think tank. Despite the many challenges, I maintained my optimism that Turkey and Israel would be able to mend their differences despite their disagreements over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

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Abbas urges world to protect Palestinians
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Ali Waked - June 2, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday praised activists who took part in an aid sail to the Gaza Strip, which left nine people dead following an Israel Defense Forces raid of the ships. Abbas lauded the passengers killed in the raid and said that the act of solidarity with Gaza was "very respectable". Speaking at the Palestine Investment Conference in Bethlehem, the Palestinian president said that just like the sail, which was aimed at breaking the blockade imposed on the Strip, the conference was a sail aimed at breaking the economic siege on Palestine.

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Obama extends White House invite to Abbas
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
May 28, 2010 - 12:00am

One day after White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, the same offer was extended to President Mahmoud Abbas. A statement from the White House press secretary released on Thursday morning confirmed that Abbas would sit with US President Barack Obama on 9 June, almost a week after Netanyahu meets with the leader. Netanyahu will head to Canada later in the week on a previously scheduled visit, and from there travel south to the US for his meeting with Obama on Tuesday 1 June.

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MESS Report / Key U.S. figure in Israel-PA talks, Lt. General Dayton, steps down
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amos Harel - May 26, 2010 - 12:00am

The United States government's special security coordinator in the Middle East, Lt. General Keith Dayton, who has played a key role in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, will step down from the post in the fall, Haaretz has learned. Though initially scheduled to serve in his capacity for one year, Dayton has remained in the region for five years, at the behest of the U.S. government.

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